Moayad > Recent Status Updates

Derelization bomb, a terrifying weapon in which an existence of something not only ceases, but all memories of it too, leaving the observer wondering if it had existed at all?

The analogy of engaging the abyss by disengagement. the counterintuitive-ness for those who are used to engage, dissect, interact to just stay still, accept, and give in into the unknown with grace, not frustration.

So far the cases seem to lean towards clinical description, rightfully so I guess as it has been emphasized by the author that the L-Dopa trials were experimental on people with sleepy sickness and it was important to keep track of how it affected them. You can still find some traces of their previous and current lives though, especially in the footnotes which might take more space than the text at times.

I’m liking the second arc and the growth Essme has shown, quite a satisfying outcome for the buildup of the intro.

An interesting introduction that walks the perfect line between madness and mystical that you can’t conclude which side the narrative lie

This book is getting back on track with interesting stories and reflections from entertaining the possibility of evolution (or perhaps diminishment) of our hearing capabilities from tones (pitch) of voices to understanding meaning of words. Cases of Synesthesia and seeing/feeling what you're hearing juxtaposed with blindness and how it affects hearing. Mostly beautiful content and page turning stories so far.

I read a very interesting chapter on musical imagery and how music generated from the brain can be an expression of the unconscious self or perhaps an “escaped” thought in a continuously running stream that we may not be aware of. That chapter was followed by a not so enjoyable one on ear worms.

It’s been some time since my first read of this book and I think I have a better understanding of Sacks’s writing today than I did 4 years ago. With this newly, perhaps biased, goggles equipped I find myself enjoying the world he builds around the patients he’s describing. Like an investigator lifting each object and scrutinizing it, he explores the lives before the illness honing in on a conclusion.

Or how knowledge workers lack a clear measurement of productivity thus utilize shallow tasks to seem busy to themselves and others. And finally, the halo effect that we bestowed on technology (but he presents a very weak argument here...). The first two are sound arguments but he did not resolve it with an answer and did not address the other variables (e.g. nature of the job) in enough details to truly dig into it.

He goes again on describing why the current organizational environment impede deep work and continue to do so due to the lack of metrics of the impact such social tools have, and how it is easier to utilize social tools to delegate or get quick answers than actually doing the homework yourself

This book is losing my interest. I've reached a part where the author was talking about how current organizations are built around constant communication and connectivity which is wrong and he took the example of open offices, instant chat tools, and emails. So far I was onboard especially since I had personal experiences where these things can make it harder to focus.

An interesting point he brought up about the neural network being strengthened by working deeply in a single topic strengthens the networks related to it and how multitasking has an "attention residue" effect where you tend to lose a bit of attention when jumping between tasks/topics.

The third person is a serial investor in technology, nothing to do with deep work there. He sets the focus back on the first two and how they were able to achieve their status via deep work and learning skills that either augment technology or allows them to master skills to create them.

Started talking about why deep work is important by taking an example of 3 successful people who thrived because deep work allowed the first one to have skills that augment the current tech advancement, and the second became a “super star” in a world where remote work is accessible.

I’m starting to doubt his approach as his view does not seem to be wholistic.

Started talking about why deep work is important by taking an example of 3 successful people who thrived because deep work allowed the first one to have skills that augment the current tech advancement, and the second became a “super star” in a world where remote work is accessible.

I’m starting to doubt his approach as his view does not seem to be wholistic.

Just got started, the author is describing deep work as professional activity performed in a distraction free environment and pushes your cognitive limit, he goes on to describe the current state of knowledge workers and how they are distracted by social media and snippets of browsing and/or answering emails.

He sets deep work as a key differentiator in today’s in today’s job market.

Just got started, the author is describing deep work as professional activity performed in a distraction free environment and pushes your cognitive limit, he goes on to describe the current state of knowledge workers and how they are distracted by social media and snippets of browsing and/or answering emails.

He sets deep work as a key differentiator in today’s in today’s job market.

Ch6. There are two forces of time that we push towards and pull away from. We try to get instant gratification followed by a sense of dread or remorse yet we also tend to procrastinate when it comes to doing tasks. All of this in an effort that favors short term gratification over long term prosperity. We need to achieve balance.

Ch6. There are two forces of time that we push towards and pull away from. We try to get instant gratification followed by a sense of dread or remorse yet we also tend to procrastinate when it comes to doing tasks. All of this in an effort that favors short term gratification over long term prosperity. We need to achieve balance.